Historic Agriculture Related Resources of Kansas

This document is based on information resulting from a statewide field survey of 352 barns initiated by the Kansas SHPO and extensive archival research. The document includes nine associated historic contexts: (1) Breaking Sod: Pre-Railroad Farming; (2) Promised Land: Railroad, Immigration, Wheat and Cash in the 1870s; (3) The Best and Worst of Times: Ranching, Diversification and Drought in the 1880s; and (4) Less Corn and More Hell: Kansas Populism in the 1890s; (5) The Golden Age: Farming in the Progressive Era, 1900-1920; (6) Down and Out: Farming the Great Depression, 1920-1941; (7) Producing for Victory: World War II, 1941-1945; (8) Consolidation and Corporations: The Post-War Years, 1945-1960; and (9) Agriculture-Related Construction Materials and Techniques. This comprehensive history of agriculture in Kansas discusses the development and evolution of Kansas' farmsteads and reveals patterns in architectural styles, building techniques, and trends. A list of associated property types and registration requirements is included.